World’s Breastfeeding Weeks (WBW) has been celebrated every year , from August 1 through August 7th, since 1991 (when it was formed to act on the Innocenti Declaration (1990). It was formed to support, protect, promote, facilitate and strengthen social mobilization for breastfeeding. What began as a one day event has turned into a week event, involving over 120 countries, endorsed by UNICEF, WHO and FAO. Personally, I highly promote breastfeeding!

Today, ostentatious billionaire hotelier, Leona Helmsley died of heart failure at age 87. She was otherwise known as the “Queen of Mean” because of her demeaning behavior towards everyone around her. She served time in jail for tax evasion and in 1990 a television movie was made about her life. May she rest in peace - Mean and All!

In memory of all the men and women who perished on 9/11/2001 at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and four airliners. Statistically, 2,626 victims were at the World Trade Center, 125 victims were at the Pentagon and 245 victims were aboard airliners. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the victims were male and 25% were female. The average age of the victims was 40 years old, with 98% being between 25 and 65. The oldest victim was 85 and the youngest was 2 years old.

From her first millinery shop, opened in 1912, to the 1920s, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel rose to become one of the premier fashion designers in Paris, France. Replacing the corset with comfort and casual elegance, her fashion themes included simple suits and dresses, women's trousers, costume jewelry, perfume and textiles.

She claimed a birthdate of 1893 and a birthplace of Auvergne; she was actually born in 1883 in Saumur - her mother worked in the poorhouse where Gabrielle was born, and died when Gabrielle was only six, leaving her father with five children whom he promptly abandoned to the care of relatives.

She adopted the name Coco during a brief career as a cafe and concert singers 1905-1908. First a mistress of a wealthy military officer then of an English industrialist, she drew on the resources of these patrons in setting up a millinery shop in Paris in 1910, expanding to Deauville and Biarritz. The two men also helped her find customers among women of society, and her simple hats became popular.

Soon she was expanding to couture, working in jersey, a first in the French fashion world. By the 1920s, her fashion house had expanded considerably, and her chemise set a fashion trend with its "little boy" look. Her relaxed fashions, short skirts, and casual look were in sharp contrast to the corset fashions popular in the previous decades. Chanel herself dressed in mannish clothes, and adapted these more comfortable fashions which other women also found liberating.

In 1922 Chanel introduced a perfume, Chanel No. 5, which became and remained popular, and remains a profitable product of Chanel's company. Pierre Wertheimer became her partner in the perfume business in 1924, and perhaps also her lover. Wertheimer owned 70% of the company; Coco Chanel received 10% and her friend Bader 20%. The Wertheimers continue to control the perfume company today.

Coco Chanel introduced her signature cardigan jacket in 1925 and signature "little black dress" in 1926. Most of her fashions had a staying power, and didn't change much from year to year -- or even generation to generation.

She briefly served as a nurse in World War I. Nazi occupation meant the fashion business in Paris was cut off for some years; Chanel's affair during World War II with a Nazi officer also resulted in some years of diminished popularity and an exile of sorts to Switzerland. In 1954 her comeback restored her to the first ranks of haute couture. Her natural, casual clothing including the Chanel suit once again caught the eye -- and purses -- of women. She introduced pea jackets and bell bottom pants for women. She was still working in 1971 when she died. Karl Lagerfeld has been chief designer of Chanel's fashion house since 1983.

In addition to her work with high fashion, she also designed stage costumes for such plays as Cocteau's Antigone (1923) and Oedipus Rex (1937) and film costumes for several movies, including Renoir's La Regle de Jeu. Katharine Hepburn starred in the 1969 Broadway musical Coco based on the life of Coco Chanel.

The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations.

Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt died. Many ancient sources claim that she met her end at her own hand, by inducing an asp to bite her. However, it is also widely believed that she may have been murdered by Octavian, and that the suicide story was made up in order to cover up the supposed murder, so as not to upset the native Egyptians. So ofcourse, unless someone stumbles upon her remains, and performs an autopsy, we will never truely know how she met her end.

The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations.

Indeed it is traditionally believed that she may have died on the 12 of August 30 ce which is the day that Octavian invaded Egypt, but many would also argue that it is highly likely that she may have been still alive days after the invasion. November 30, 30 ce is also said to have been the date of her death rather than in August 30, 30 ce which is three whole months later. So yes, it is very confusing.

The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations.

Mary of Modena was the daughter of Alofonso IV of Modena and the duchess Laura. Mary was the second wife of James II of Great Britain. There were no surviving sons of his first marriage.

Mary of Modena was a Roman Catholic, raising suspicion that she would raise any children as Catholics, and British succession excluded Roman Catholics from the throne. Thus, the prospect of Mary bearing a male heir raised fears about the restoration of Roman Catholicism. The close association of Mary of Modena with the French and with the Jesuit order was also unpopular among the British populace.

The first five children of Mary of Modena and James II were stillborn or did not survive long. Finally, on June 10, 1688, Mary bore a living son, James. However, rumors circulated widely that the child was a changeling or substitute who would ensure a restoration of Roman Catolicism.

Whig aristocrats plotted to remove James II from power and to prevent his son from succeeding. The coup took place in 1688 without bloodshed. Mary of Modena fled to Paris with her son. Mary is also credited with convincing her husband to flee England as well, thus ensuring his defeat.

The Whigs invited Mary II, the daughter of James II by his first wife, with her husband and cousin, William of Orange, to assume the throne of England.

In exile, Mary of Modena and James II had one more child, a daughter. After her husband's death, she convinced the king of France to recognize her son as the rightful king of England, leading to the War of the Spanish Succession.

Mary of Modena died in May of 1718 of cancer. Her tomb was destroyed in the French Revolution.

Mary of Modena.

Edited by Penelope - 26-Sep-2008 at 07:47

The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations.

Indira Gandhi, the first female Prime Minister of India, was assassinated by Sikh rebels.

She has gone down in history as one of the best-known women of the 20th century. Daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, mother of Sanjay and Rajiv Gandhi, mother-in-law of politician Sonia Gandhi. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of the Republic of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 until her untimely death in 1984. She was India's first and to date, only female Prime Minister.

The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations.

Eartha Kitt, the legendary actress/singer best known for her role as "Catwoman" on the Batman tv series, succumed to cancer.

To this day, she is regarded by many Batman fans as being the greatest of all "Catwomen". A self-proclaimed "sex kitten" famous for her catlike purr, Kitt was one of America's most versatile performers, winning two Emmy Awards and being nominated for Tony and Grammy Awards. The North, South Carolina native, born Eartha Mae Keith, played Catwoman in the 1960s television series 'Batman,' before being blacklisted after making anti-war statements during a White House luncheon hosted by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. On the Broadway stage, she made her debut in 1945 in 'Bal Negre.' 32 years later, she was still going strong; with the all-star musical 'Timbuktu.' She received high marks for her role in the 2000 revival of 'The Wild Party.' Her other Broadway credits include 'Shinbone Alley,' 'Jolly's Progress' and 'Nine.' In the 1992 hit movie, Kitt played a most memorable role as Lady Eloise -- a rich business tycoon who has a sexual tryst with the movie's main character, played by Eddie Murphy. Most recently, she appeared in the independent films, 'Preaching to the Choir' --alongside Patti LaBelle, Tim Reid, and Tichina Arnold â€“ and the romantic comedy called 'And Then Came Love' â€“ starring Vanessa Williams, Michael Boatman, and Ben Vereen. An illustrius career indeed. Kitt is survived by her daughter, Kitt Shapiro, and two grand children. She was 81.

The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations.

Born Isabella Baumfree, Sojourner Truth was one of the earliest and most passionate of female abolitionists-for she herself had once been a slave. In the 1820s, when still quite a young woman, she escaped from her New York owner after being brutally treated and sold away from her family. By the 1840s, Truth had become a powerful speaker against slavery, often moving her audiences to tears and exclamations of horror with her firsthand accounts of what many of her black brethren and sisters were enduring at the hands of cruel masters. She would tell listeners of how some slaves were kept cowed and afraid to act by beatings, sometimes with spiked sticks and chains; she herself, as a teenager, had been taken into the barn by her master one afternoon for absolutely no reason and tied up by the wrists. Then he tore the shirt from her back and whipped her with a bundle of sticks until her back bled. In a voice contemporaries described as rich and deep, she described how she refused to give him the satisfaction of screaming, by clenching her fists so hard her fingernails drew blood from her palms. She also spoke of the living conditions many slaves were forced to endure, crowded together into cabins with no privacy, overworked, fed scraps in many cases, and clothed in threadbare hand-me-downs. Her audiences must have felt the shame as Truth recalled the auction block, upon which men and women alike were frequently forced to strip and stand before potential buyers, who would search their bodies for marks of the whip or of wrist or leg irons, the presence of which would indicate the slave had been frequently punished. The slaves would be forced to endure impersonal and degrading inspections of their teeth, muscles, and other body parts, depending on what the buyer was looking for in the purchase. Truth was self-educated, and much of her speaking bore the stamp of a deep love of and acquaintance with Scripture. When explaining to Harriet Beecher Stowe how she came to change her name, Truth said she felt God had called her "to travel up and down the land, showing the people their sins and being a sign unto them." She also possessed a quick wit, coupled with an ability to think fast and turn the unkind words of others against them. Facing a heckler once who told her he did not care for her anti-slavery talk anymore than he would for the bite of a flea, Truth retorted, "Perhaps not, but Lord willing I'll keep you scratching." She was very involved in political causes, and strongly supported suffrage. During the Civil War, she gathered supplies for black volunteer regiments, and, in tribute to her efforts, was received at the White House by President Lincoln in 1864. Truth was appointed to the National Freedman's Relief Association in 1864, where she worked diligently to better conditions for African-Americans. She lived long enough to see her people brought to freedom, but never stopped in her efforts to win more equality for them. Right up until her death, in Battle Creek, Michigan, she continued to speak out for her race; when she died in 1883, she went to her grave a much lamented and beloved figure in abolitionist lore.Source: The Civil War Society's "Encyclopedia of the Civil War." Principal Writer and Researcher Suzanne LeVert

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